FEATURED ARTICLES ABOUT PARK INN - PAGE 2

NEW DELHI: Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group will increase the number of hotels it operates in India to 100 by 2015, a top company official said. The American hospitality firm is currently the largest international operator in the country with 63 hotels. "India is a priority for us. We have more hotels here than in China," said Simon Barlow, president, Asia Pacific for the company. Carlson opened 13 hotels in 2012, after a record year in 2011 when they opened 18 hotels. This year, the plan is to open another 13 properties which will take them closer to their target of 100 hotels.

NEW DELHI: Global hospitality major Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group plans to open over 130 new hotels in India in 10 years as it seeks to increase it's footprint in the country. The chain, which currently runs hotels under brands Radisson Blu, Radisson, Park Plaza, Park Inn by Radisson, Country Inns & Suites By Carlson in India, will focus mostly on mid-scale hotels under management contract. "We plan to open over 130 new hotels across India by 2024. We already have 68 hotels that are operational in the country," Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group South Asia Chairman K B Kachru told PTI. The new hotels will be across the brands that the company has in India but the focus will be mainly on the midscale segment as it has more demand and significant potential, he added.

COIMBATORE: Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group is eyeing major pilgrimage centres in south India to set up hotels as part of its expansion plans, a top company official said today. Carlson Group is one of the world's largest hotel chains. South India has vast potential for religious tourism and the group is focusing its attention to develop hotels in major pilgrimage centres like Tirupati , Madurai and Rameshwaram , said Raj Rana , CEO, Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group, South Asia.

NEW DELHI: Global hospitality major Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group today launched its upscale 'Radisson Red' brand in India as part of its ambitious expansion plans here. The Group has 74 hotels in operation and 43 more in the pipeline across different cities in India. "Bringing the Radisson Red brand to India is in line with our continued long term commitment to India to bring new brands to the market," Group's Asia Pacific President Thorsten Kirschke told PTI. Radisson Red is the company's upscale brand which enables guests to 'elect' the type of experience that best reflects their lifestyle.

GUWAHATI: Global hospitality major Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group plans to add 3,000 new rooms to its portfolio under various brands across India over the next 3-4 years, creating 4,500-5,000 new jobs. The Group, which has been primarily into big cities in India, will have most of its planned 27-28 new hotels in tier-II cities of the country. "The Carlson Rezidor Group continues to add 7-8 hotels every year to its portfolio and we will continue this rate. At present, we have 27-28 hotels in pipeline and in various stages of completion," Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group (South Asia)

NEW DELHI: US hospitality major Carlson is picking 26% stake in a fresh venture with the Unitech group for introducing the Regent hospitality brand in India. The joint venture would be developing the luxury hotel property located at Greater Noida with an estimated investment of Rs 450 crore. For Carlson, which has global operations under brands such as Radisson, Park Plaza, Park Inn, Country Inns & Suites apart from Regent, this would be the first such equity venture in the country.

GURGAON: Identifying India as a key market for its future growth, global hospitality and travel company Carlson today said it plans manage over 100 hundred hotels in the country by 2015 as part of international expansion plan. The company, which manages 31 hotels across India, said it will have over 11,000 rooms in the next five years on the back of expansion, up from the 2,865 rooms it has at present. It has already opened three new hotels this year, while another five are in the pipeline to be operational in 2010.

CHENNAI: US-based international hospitality chain Carlson Hotels Worldwide's Country Inns & Suites has made its entry into the Chennai market with a new 96-room hotel in Egmore. The Rs 78-crore hotel, styled Country Inn & Suites by Carlson, has come up on the same property that housed the erstwhile Vaigai hotel (a 58-room hotel that was in operation for four decades) till a few months ago. Spread over 9.5 grounds, the 11-storeyed the new hotel has 96 rooms, only 48 of which are currently operational.

Despite economic growth remaining slow and demand for hotels slackening, Carlson Hotels' chairperson Diana L Nelson considers India a strong market. In the past one year, 15% of Carlson's hotel investment world over was in India. By 2020, the company plans to manage 200 hotels in the country as well as invest in some, Nelson told ET's Varuni Khosla in an interview as she explained the company's strategy. Edited excerpts: There has been a shift of sorts from interest in luxury hotels to mid-market hotels in India.

LONDON: Carlson Hotels, the US group that operates the Regent and Radisson chains, is planning to add 30 odd hotels in India in the mid-market segment over the next few years, and has set up a strategic alliance with a new US $1 billion private equity fund to target primarily in India and China. Carlson Hotels Asia Pacific has plans to expand its Park Inn and Country Inn mid-market brands and economy brands in India in smaller cities and towns, and has tied up with Lotus Hotel Invesment Fund, based in London, which is a new fund focused exclusively on the hotel sector in the high-growth markets of India, China and others in the Asian region.